Yesterday I had the honour of chairing the Science and Technology Committee, as an interim co-chair. Our former chair, Greg Clark MP, has returned to Cabinet and so cannot also be a Select Committee chair.
The session that I chaired was a pre-appointment hearing for the Government's preferred candidate for the role of Executive Chair at Research England, Professor Dame Jessica Corner. Amongst other things, I asked her about her motivation in applying for this role.
Research England is one of nine UK Research Councils, and is responsible for funding research projects at universities.